My brother Jimmy became very ill early in May and was hospitalized; to lift his spirits, I made this quilt- there was so little color in his hospital room, so I chose his favorite colors to make it as bright as possible.
The pattern is very loosely based on a quilt I saw in a magazine called "America Makes Fast Quilts" (Spring 2012) - the original was called Mint Chocolate Chip. Besides changing the colors, I also adjusted the size so it would work as a lap quilt, or to use as a cover on his hospital bed, and I also wanted him to be able to use it when he came home and was resting in his recliner or lying on the sofa. I made a strip of small blocks of each fabric and inserted them in the top edge of the border, and bound the quilt using fabrics that the blocks were made from.
When I finished the top, I took it to show him, and he was very surprised- he had no idea I was working on it. I kept working on it, and was almost finished- all I had to do was put the binding on it, and he passed away Aug 1. Two days later, while we were planning his funeral, Mama decided that she wanted to use the quilt as a blanket on the casket, instead of a blanket of flowers.